


I thought I dreamt you

by talktothesky



Series: Thallen Week 2015 [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Thallen Week 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-04-01 08:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4013491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talktothesky/pseuds/talktothesky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“you locked yourself out of your room so you came to get me, your RA, but you’re wet and in just a towel and i am very distracted” au</i>
</p>
<p>College life is supposed to be this wild <i>“party all night, sleep all day, love, drink and go mad”</i> experience. Every student celebrates the arrival of Fridays as if their life depends on it and the dorm rooms are always silent during night time on the weekends, either because everyone is out enjoying their freedom or because the few people that are in are nursing massive hangovers.</p>
<p>Barry Allen, however, has spent the last two Friday nights locked up on his room, fingers bleeding out words onto his computer to finish his Immunology report while the rest of the world moved at a speed Barry sometimes felt was too slow and, other times, too fast for him to follow. His body feels stiff and he tries to recall the last time he ate but he fails miserably. His movements are languid and his fingers seem to drag from one key of his computer to another, but everything is worth it for the absolute rush of joy that overcomes him when he finally puts an end to his essay.</p>
<p>
  <i>(Thallen Week - Day 2: College AU)</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	I thought I dreamt you

**Author's Note:**

> Will I ever learn to write a real drabble? Will I be able to write anything under 2k words? Only time will tell. 
> 
> Enjoy my fic for the second day of the Thallen week.

College life is supposed to be this wild _“party all night, sleep all day, love, drink and go mad”_ experience. Every student celebrates the arrival of Fridays as if their life depends on it and the dorm rooms are always silent during night time on the weekends, either because everyone is out enjoying their freedom or because the few people that are in are nursing massive hangovers.

Barry Allen, however, has spent the last two Friday nights locked up on his room, fingers bleeding out words onto his computer to finish his Immunology report while the rest of the world moved at a speed Barry sometimes felt was too slow and, other times, too fast for him to follow. His body feels stiff and he tries to recall the last time he ate but he fails miserably. His movements are languid and his fingers seem to drag from one key of his computer to another, but everything is worth it for the absolute rush of joy that overcomes him when he finally puts an end to his essay. 

Falling back onto his chair and relaxing his arms, Barry lets out a content sigh, weeks of built-up frustration escaping his body. His professor had been very picky and very specific about what the project had to entail and, from the very beginning of his research, Barry has felt the paper slowly sucking the life out of him. The boy takes time stretching all of his articulations -wrists, ankles, shoulders- and he takes deep, relaxing breathes that fill his lungs completely, making him feel reborn. After cracking his neck, he leans closer to the table once again to make sure all of his work has been saved correctly and he emails the paper to himself just in case, knowing that a revision of the article will still be necessary. He will ask Caitlin tomorrow, offering in turn to check hers for her.

When he finally ventures to look at the computer clock, his eyes widen dramatically, the numbers on the screen mocking him. 2:39 AM. Barry groans and closes the laptop with more force than necessary before he stands up and throws himself on his bed. He closes his eyes and feels a headache building behind his eyes. With Cisco -his roommate- gone for the weekend to visit his very complicated family, Barry had thrown himself completely into his work when he arrived from his Friday morning classes. He remembers texting back and forth with Caitlin for a while but he can’t remember moving from his room for more than the occasional bathroom break. He has been seated in front of his computer for over 10 hours and he is just starting to feel the effects. His stomach grumbles loudly and his skin feel sticky, dried sweat pressing his clothes uncomfortably to his skin. He feels utterly tired but he knows that he won’t have a peaceful sleep if he doesn’t eat something and take a refreshing shower.

Cisco and he always have a stack of snacks at the ready for their movie marathons and late-night cravings, a thing that Caitlin strongly advises against. Salt and vinegar Pringles may not be the healthiest food in the world but what Caitlin doesn’t know won’t hurt her, so Barry eats an entire can away in under two minutes, his hunger settling for the night. One thing of his to-do-list already crossed out. 

The next step comes in the form of Barry grabbing his towel and toiletries and heading for the communal dorm bathroom. The halls of the building are deserted, no lights coming from under any of the rooms. If his life wasn’t so completely uneventful Barry is sure this would be the perfect setting for a horror movie, but seeing as the most interesting thing that has happened to him in the last two months was seeing his hot RA shirtless he thinks he can walk unhurriedly, no threats of zombies or malevolent spirits looming around.

Reaching the bathroom, Barry’s thoughts move without his permission to that very exciting moment  of his life, when he saw Eddie Thawne, Resident Assistant for his dorms, exiting the same showers he is about to enter clad in only a white towel wrapped around his waist.  Water was rolling down his chest, the cheap bathroom lights looking like sun rays reflected on his tan skin. Barry shakes his head at the images, remembering how he had blushed and ran out of the bathroom, forgetting what he was even supposed to be doing there.

Eddie Thawne is somewhat of a hero for the students living in the Wells Hall, his laid-back attitude and ever-present smile making him the most popular RA in the history of the university. Probably. Barry is like 75% sure of that statement and it has nothing to do with the fact that he might have a crush the size of a small country on the blond man. He is not desperately pining after the other boy, no matter how many times Cisco claims he has seen him doodle little Eddie cartoons on his notes. That has never happened.

(Okay, so it happened once, but it was after the already mentioned shower fiasco and Barry was still in awe of the god-like figure Eddie had displayed. Barry can’t help being human and he was quick to assure Cisco than even with him claiming to be completely straight he would have also been astonished.)

Undressing slowly Barry is able to admit to himself in the emptiness of the standard, all-white, college bathroom that his crush for Eddie may sometimes get a little out of hand. He has never been able to maintain a normal length conversation with the older boy, always tripping over his words, cheeks flaming when Eddie so much as moves his blue eyes in Barry’s direction. But Barry can’t help it, he can’t help that Eddie always seems to be the epitome of perfection and the personification of all of Barry’s dreams and desires. 

Tiredness makes Barry uncaring about the state in which he leaves his clothes, all of them piled up on the tiled bathroom, close to his shower stall. Still distracted by his fantasies, Barry turns the shower knob and enjoys the touch of the hot water on his skin, erasing his doubts for some time and allowing him to keep his mind a complete blank slate. The boy starts to unconsciously hum, losing himself to the spreading of the shower gel and shampoo, rising and cleaning away all the worries. He knows he only has a few minutes to bask but he makes sure he makes the most out of every single second before he comes out of the shower and has to rejoin the real world, in which Eddie Thawne has no idea who he is, classes are kicking his butt and he will fall into a deep slumber until, at least, Saturday noon.

Barry wraps his towel around his waist, steam surrounding him still, and puts away his bottles into his dressing case. He then unwraps the towel to rub it over his skin slowly, riding himself of the excess of water, repeating the process when he runs the towel through his hair. He is not worried about anyone walking in on him, completely sure in the knowledge that at 3AM at night no one is interested in the shower section of the bathroom. 

His hearts starts beating like crazy, however, when he looks around and regretfully realizes he has forgotten to bring clean clothes with him. He utters a frustrated sound and resigns himself to wear his dirty clothes back to his room. He goes to pick them up when he sees the proximity to the shower at which he left them. He feels real tears prickling in his eyes fighting to break free when he observes the puddle of water that has formed around them and his suspicions are confirmed when he takes them into his arms and they are completely soaked. This shower was supposed to relax him before he went to bed and now he can feel himself growing more and more frustrated.

Barry can’t find a better solution than walking back to his room clad only in the thin white towel and at least, he thinks, now the emptiness of the dorms will be useful for him, avoiding embarrassment even though he is used to it due to his general clumsiness in his day to day life.

Cradling his clothes close to his chest and adjusting tightly the cloth over his lower area so it doesn’t fall, Barry starts his way to his room, confident strides carrying him until he reaches his and Cisco’s door, sporting a whiteboard in which they both love to draw. The whiteboard sports now a short message Cisco left him before taking the trip back to his family house and also a little heart that Caitlin drew a week or so ago and that the boys have no desire to erase. 

Barry stops his walk in front of the door and throws all of his clothes bare his pants on the floor. The boy reaches inside the pants pockets searching for his key and comes out empty-handed from all four of them.

“No, no, no, no.” Barry mutters, desperate. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Barry drops his pants to the floor with the rest of his clothes and starts thudding the door with his head, grunting all the while. Today is most definitely not his day and Iris will have a laughing fit about it when he tells her all about it on Sunday in their appointed weekly Skype call.

Barry turns around to rest with his back against the door and runs his fingers through his still damp hair. He doesn’t have his phone with him so calling Caitlin is out of the picture and, of course, it’s not like calling Cisco would actually be a possibility. There is only one real possible solution but Barry delays thinking about it, shame already curling in his belly at the prospect of asking Eddie for help. The RA could get him into his room thanks to the set of keys he has for each and every room in his section but Barry frets at the idea of having to approach the other man in the state he’s in right now.

Minutes pass and Barry starts to shiver, getting colder by the minute standing nearly naked in the middle of the hallway. It must be around three thirty now and Barry realizes that he needs to actually check if Eddie is in his room because if the man is out Barry is basically screwed. His heart starts beating wildly at the prospect of not having anywhere to go, and he moves away from the door, heading quickly in the direction of the RA’s room, praying under his breath that he will be found there.

When he reaches his destination, he raises his hand to knock on the door, not giving himself time to hesitate at doing so. Seconds pass in between his knocks and no one answers the door making Barry’s blood run cold. He gets more anxious, his hits to the door more prominent and insistent until they are a constant stream of pounds. 

Abruptly, the door opens and Barry startles, taking a step backwards and sighing in relief. “Thank god you’re here.”

“Wha-?” Eddie was obviously already well asleep and Barry feels guilty for waking him up but nothing can compare to the feeling of affection that overtakes him as the blond man rubs his dropping eyelids and makes an adorable confused face. Eddie Thawne is gorgeous even at 3AM and Barry thinks he can feel a heart attack already in the works. “Allen?”

Barry offers the other man a sheepish wave and a soft greeting, becoming aware again of his state of undress when Eddie’s eyes widen dramatically and move up and down his body. The situation reminds Barry of that encounter he had with Eddie in the showers and he laments the fact that fate seems to be messing with him once again.

The blond man is still looking at him and ,shaking his head, he gulps and frowns, closing his eyes tightly and opening them again a second later, his gaze puzzled.

“Am I dreaming? Are you—?” Eddie stops talking and rubs the back of his neck with the palm of his hand. He clears his throat before continuing, “I mean,… What are you doing here?”

“Well, you see I’m, well, I’m basically locked out of my room because Cisco is out of town. Not that this is Cisco’s fault! I was the one who forgot to take the keys.” Barry stutters when trying to give his answer and he just wants a lightning bolt to hit him and put him out of his misery. He takes a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. “I went to take a shower and forgot to take my keys so I can’t get into my room and I would really appreciate it if you could help me.”

Eddie looks bewildered at Barry’s rambling and he just stands blinking in front of Barry for a couple seconds before he shakes out his stupor and answers him, “Sure! Yeah, yeah, I can help.”

Barry sighs in relief and breathes out a “Thank you.”

Eddie’s smile is radiant and Barry wonders for a moment if the dawn is already happening and then scolds himself for the sappy thought, but his brain really loses all coherency when Eddie turns around to head for his drawers and Barry gets a first hand demonstration of how well the boxers the blond is wearing cling to his ass. Barry could die a happy man with this as the last image he ever saw: Eddie in a tank top and boxers, hair wild and feet adorably bare.

Barry bites his lower lip forcefully, knowing this night will do no good on his crush for the RA but he sets his face in a blank expression when Eddie faces him again, keys in hand.

“Shall we?”  Eddie motions for Barry to lead the way and the boy nods, heading in the direction of his room.

Barry feels  heat traveling all the way up his spine and when he turns around he discovers Eddie’s gaze appreciating all his body. When the boys’ eyes meet, the blond blushes furiously and coughs awkwardly while Barry turns around and continues walking again, a slight smile painting his  lips. Maybe it is not such a hopeless crush after all.

Eddie’s hesitant voice brings him back to reality, “So, what where you doing taking a shower at 3AM?”

Barry slows his pace a bit to position himself next to Eddie and lets their bare shoulders brush as they walk leisurely through the deserted halls. “I had just finished an essay and I can’t go to bed feeling dirty, you know? I had to clean up.”

“Oh, that’s good to know.” The comment comes just as the boys arrive at Barry’s door and Eddie starts searching for the correct key, trying them all one by one. It sounds a lot like the sentence is carrying a double meaning but Barry is confused just thinking about it.

“Is it?” Barry asks. “Good to know, I mean.” 

Eddie takes his time answering and Barry would attribute it to his concentration being focused on the task but Barry can observe the slight tremble in Eddie’s hands and he knows there is something more to be known. 

“Yeah, it’s interesting.” Eddie finally replies, aiming for nonchalance. 

A self-deprecating laugh escapes Barry’s mouth. “It isn’t. Nothing about me can be labelled as interesting. Bizarre maybe but, not interesting.”

Eddie straightens up from where he was slouched over the door trying to fit keys and he looks directly at Barry, gaze unwavering and very serious. “That’s not true. I happen to find you very interesting, Barry.”

Barry’s face must show his skepticism because Eddie laughs and starts passing the keys from one hand to the other, making them click together in every throw, making it the only sound audible around them.

“It’s true,” the blond insists. “I don’t flirt with just anyone at ass o’clock in the morning.”

Barry chokes on nothing and holds onto his towel, trying to make sense of the situation that is unfolding around him. “You’re flirting with me? With _me_?”

Eddie’s posture turns uncertain again as he rubs his face with his hand, “I’m trying to but I’m not very good at it.”

Taking a step forward, Barry lays a reassuring hand on Eddie upper arm. “It’s okay, I’m even worse at it, I promise.”

Eddie laughs and his whole face seems to light up.

“No, you’re good. Knocking on my door in just a towel is a very bold strategy.”, the RA teases.

“Oh god,” Barry moves his touch away from Eddie’s arm to hide his face in both his hands. “That was actually not on purpose.”

The comment makes Eddie laugh again as he turns back to the door, continuing the search for the right key.

Barry distracts himself by looking at the blond and he can’t help asking, “So, the flirting,what brought it on?”

Eddie looks back at him for a second before turning his gaze back to the door. “I’ve always wanted an excuse to flirt with you but I have never had the guts.” 

“For real?” Barry wonders, amazed. The knob gives under one of the keys Eddie has used and the blond man opens the door finally, smiling amusedly at the victorious fist pump that Barry acts out. 

In regards to Barry’s previous question, Eddie says, “For real. At first I thought you were dating that brunette girl that is always with you but then I saw her a couple of times here in the dorms just with Cisco and I deduced she was just a friend. Then I was just not brave enough to say anything.”

“Caitlin is only a friend, yes.” Barry confirms. “And I have also been too afraid to say anything to you, so I guess we’re even.”

With a low laugh Eddie whispers, “I guess we are.”

Taking hold of his towel, preventing it to fall, Barry takes his clothes from the floor and enters his room to leave them on his chair, making a mental note to properly hung them up to dry later. When he turns around to look for Eddie he sees the blond man casually leaning against the doorway and absentmindedly playing with the set of keys in his hands. Barry approaches him slowly again, stoping a couple steps away from the door.

“So…” Barry wants to kick himself for the awkwardness.

“So…” Eddie mimics, but Barry can feel it’s not with malice, it’s not even amused. Eddie is feeling just as nervous as he is and Barry can’t help but feel butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

Barry takes a deep breath and looks into Eddie’s eyes, so azure and so unsure and he decides to take the leap he never thought he would take. “Look, at the risk of sounding like a real loser or like a stupid teenager with a crush: I like you. I really do like you and I would like to get to know you. More. I would like to get to know you more, it’s what I mean.” 

Throughout Barry’s speech Eddie’s face has progressively lit up, lips turned into a beautiful blinding smile. Barry’s heart gives a funny flutter.

“Well then, I guess we can be losers together because I really like you, too.” 

Barry lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and he knows his smile must be a mirror image of Eddie’s.

“That’s so great. That’s amazing. I never thought—wow, yeah, I, I’m very glad obviously, glad that you like me back and—“

“Barry.” Eddie’s voice interrupts Barry’s ramble and the tall boy sighs in relief.

“Yeah?”

Eddie moves to stand in front of Barry an places his hands over the bare skin just above Barry’s towel. The touch feels hot in contrast to the chilly air and a shudder works its way through Barry’s body, from head to toe.

“Can I kiss you?” the blond’s voice is sultry and his pupils are dilated, his tongue already coming out to wet his lips.

Barry looks down at the other boy so confident now compared to only mere minutes ago when he was struggling to flirt - _oh my god Eddie Thawne had actually tried flirting with him_ -  and Barry realizes all of the layers he has yet to discover about Eddie and he decides that a kiss seems like the best way to start this new journey of exploration.

“Yes.” he answers, bold and brave.

Their lips meet in the middle and it’s not a breeze but it isn’t a clash either. It’s wet and messy, tongues seeking each other out and lips sliding uncoordinatedly at first. Barry’s hands move to tangle into Eddie’s hair and he accidentally pulls a little bit, making Eddie groan. The blond’s hips press against Barry’s and the boy feels Eddie’s bulge through the thin layer of cloth of his towel and Eddie’s boxers. The kiss turns hungry then and Eddie bites Barry’s lower lip maddeningly time and time again, embarrassing whimpers escaping Barry’s lips.

Suddenly, Eddie takes a step back and runs the back of his hand through his mouth, a move that is too attractive in Barry’s opinion.

“I should… I should go back to my room.”

 Eddie’s breaths are uneven and his chest is heaving. Barry is also still trying to catch his breath but the idea of Eddie leaving is not one he contemplates.

“Or,” Barry proposes, “you could stay in my room, which is closer.” 

Barry moves decisively until he stands next to his bed and then sits down in it, looking straight at Eddie and saying in what he hopes is a seductive voice, “I am alone all weekend.”

It must work because Eddie’s breath catches in his throat and biting his lip he mutters, “Oh, fuck it.” before closing the door and going to stand between Barry’s legs.

“Not good at flirting, my ass.” states Eddie.

The night begins with Barry in only a towel seeking help, it continues with Eddie kissing Barry’s laugh out of his lips and it never really ends.

 

**Author's Note:**

> visit me at my [Tumblr](http://felicitysmoakinghot.tumblr.com), let's be bff's <3


End file.
